Hampton's largest shopping area, Coliseum Central Business Improvement District, includes the Hampton Coliseum, Peninsula Town Center and the Power Plant development as well as numerous restaurants and hotels. The area is easily accessible from Interstate 64.

One of Hampton's oldest assets is poised to become an even larger attraction in the upcoming years. Fort Monroe was named the nation's 396th National Park Service monument by President Barack Obama in November 2011.

The Fort Monroe Authority and park service continue to schedule events at the more than 500-acre site which features a small village of historic buildings, a moated area with views of the Chesapeake Bay, a yacht club and several beaches.

The former military base is on Hampton's southeast side, just below Phoebus and Buckroe. Those neighborhoods are expected to benefit from the influx of visitors expected to visit Fort Monroe.

The fort is also a reminder of a time in 1861 when African-American slaves made their way there and found sanctuary from the repression of their owners and from the horrors of the Civil War. Once at the fort, they were declared Confederate "contraband" and lived as free people for the first time in their lives.

The city's history also shines through in many of its neighborhoods including Pasture Point, Aberdeen and Wythe.

Downtown Hampton can provide a taste of history as it hosts the Hampton History Museum and Virginia Air and Space Center, the latter of which acts as the official visitors center for NASA Langley Research Center.

Hampton University as well as numerous shops and restaurants are also located downtown along Queens Way and Settlers Landing Road.